Whenever I get hungry or a little empty feeling I start to PANIC! it's like an alarm inside me is ringing saying, "Go eat something NOW!". I've recently moved my meals to three times a day and am enjoying feeling in control of my cravings and eat a whole foods diet for the most part, no sugar white flour etc. but I just love eating all the time. Do you get used to lower calorie intake? I started running too, eating about 2000 cals a day and starving! Any advice or someone who has been here too in the beginning???

I don't like feeling hungry either. I choose to eat large meals and pretty much no snacks. The meals keep me full for hours, and in between I sip on coffee (and lots of water) to give myself the feeling that something is going in my body. I also don't feel hungry until after noon, so I don't eat until then. My meals are usually around 1pm, 5pm and 10pm. Strange schedule but it works for me. I really don't feel hunger during the day. (I try to keep my cals averaged out at 1500 a day.) Play around with your meal times and sizes, see if that makes a difference with your hunger. Is there a certain time of the day you are especially hungry? If you are a snacker you could make sure you have some protein (cheese, peanut butter) before the hunger period, or you could plan a larger meal for that time. Also, are you losing a decent amount per week? If so, maybe you need to up your cals, since you run.

Right now I'm not exercising b/c I find that I binge on the days I work out. Not sure what's going on with that, so I'm taking a break from it and will revisit the issue later on in my weight loss, since I do recognize that exercise is important.

It's 100% normal to hate and want to get rid of hunger, after all, that kept us hunting in adverse conditions!!

It DOES get easier over time, this I promise, but I also don't think that hunger is every "easy" because it's simply unnatural.

Repeat this Mantra

"Hunger is not an emergency. Hunger is not an emergency. HUnger is not an emergency", etc
OR
"Hunger is the feeling of fat cells shrinking. Hunger is the feeling of fat cells shrinking."

How long have you been dieting? it DOES get easier, but its hormonal/metabolic adaptation related.. Leptin and Grehnlin Levels ( the hormones responsible for feeling "full" and For feeling "hungry" )get completely outta whack... SOme think of this as a good thing, i.e.; not feeling as hungry anymore, but falling leptin levels go hand in hand with other hormones effected by weightloss, such as thyroid function and estrogen production

I hate hunger...must eat when hungry. That is all.

Our bodies get used to eating a certain amount of food and at certain times. If you change that, then it will take a little while for your body to adjust. Having said that, I don't think my body has ever fully adjusted and yes if I want to lose weight or even maintain my weight, I have to get used to a little hunger. I think it is ok though, it is like saying "oh hi hunger, there you are, I'll be with you in a bit". I'm not talking about ravenous hunger but you do need to allow your body to adjust to the changes you are imposing on it.

I was definitely hungrier during the first month of my 'new lifestyle'. I just kept water with me at all times and drank when I felt hungry. If I was still hungry after drinking water, I would have a small snack. Worked for me. Plus I think my feeling of hungry was just the fact that I missed eating. I find if I find something to do it takes my mind off of it. 4 months later I find myself not hungry when it is time to eat. Hope this helps!!

For me, dealing with the physical hunger did get easier over time. I remind myself that I am in control of it, that I am choosing to create a calorie deficit because I want to lose weight, that I am doing it in a healthy way and that the hunger is just a temporary result of my choices. Focusing on how much control I have over it is a good feeling, but maybe that only applies to control-freaks like me . I also think my body has adjusted to a certain extent to my food routine, so I'll get hungry around mealtime, but not usually in between- although maybe that's just a Pavolv's dog kind of a thing. I've also found exercise to be a major appetite suppressant, so I'll go get my sweat on if I can and that always helps.

I don't think there's ever a time during the day where I couldn't go to McDonalds and eat 2000 calories at one sitting. I just try and not think about food and stay busy with other things. Another poster had a good comment in that when I start getting fairly hungry, it's not an alarm bell to immediately go out and satisfy the urge; I think we have to re-train ourselves. I think it's like a Pavlonian response that we all react to without thinking. What's the worst that's going to happen if I don't go eat something? Nothing at all. And I could give in and eat that chicken leg or candy bar or potato chips, and after I ate it I'd be just as hungry then as I am now and I would have stuffed an additional 1000 calories in my body. I'd have to binge big-time to kill my hunger completely.

Also, an "emergency food" for me is either a can of green beans or some stir-fried zucchini and squash - both of which have very few calories and fat. If I think I'm going to eat my arm off and my zombie-body is dragging me toward the kitchen, I'll go fill my stomach with that.

Remember - hunger is fat leaving the body.

I try to ride it out and/or have some espresso (I love espresso!). I find that if I can ride it out, it usually goes away in about half hour or so. Hunger seems to come in waves. Knowing that has allowed me to ignore it until the next meal (most of the time ).

It sounds like you might not be getting enough protein. You should have one with every meal. Snacks are not bad if you eat some yogurt, fruit and cheese, apple and peanut butter , i.e. healthy snacks.

Hunger is not an emergency. It doesn't have to be assuaged the minute you feel it.

Hunger is bad, I don't feel any unless I forget to eat my meals on time. You should get more protein and a lot more fiber in, they really help to fill you up. There are a lot of veggies and fruits you can get for almost no calories and add lots of fiber to your diet.
Also, don't go more then 4 hours without eating something. Too much time and your metabolism slows down, which makes you burn less calories. Plus, you're more likely to eat too much of the wrong things when you're hungry.
If you're hungry, it's best to have a snack, a healthy one that you can afford with your calorie budget.

But you have to know the difference between hunger and just wanting to eat. When you know you're full, but that cake (or whatever) is calling your name, you can chew gum, drink water, brush your teeth, and so forth. This stuff always makes me forget about it.

This bears repeating, it's SO important.

This is all great great advice, I really dig the mantras and knowing that hunger is just how you lose the fat! I think I am so trained to eat at times it is purely psychological. I'm going to try to lower my calories today, I've been 'dieting' about a week (tracking my food on livestrong- I love this site) and have actually gained a pound! I started exercising for the first time in a while though and I look smaller so I know some of that is muscle. Thank you for the support, i'll let you know how it goes! Good to hear from people who have had some weight loss success who know what i'm talking about.

I don't get hungry really, maybe the first 2 weeks I was hungry but really a year later I rarely feel hungry. And if I'm hungry I eat a small snack. Hunger is my number one binge trigger so I try to avoid ever being hungry and try to eat before it strikes.

That isn't to say I never want to eat just cause well I want food. But that has gotten a lot better with time. If I really want to eat, even if I'm not hungry I will drink some water, wait 10 minutes and if I can't shake the feeling then I will have a healthy snack.